The Spanish Collection held by the MML comprises the archives of the International Brigade Association (IBA), donated to the Library in 1975. The IBA was established in 1938 by the veterans of the British Battalion…Read More

John Desmond Bernal died in 1971 after an active life spent as a scientist and political activist. The Marx Memorial Library had the pleasure of knowing him as its President for over twenty years (1950-71).…Read More

The Morning Star, founded as the Daily Worker in 1930, is a socialist daily national newspaper. Since 1945 The Daily Worker it has been owned by the People’s Press Printing Society and in 1966 became…Read More

The Library’s Reading Room is open to members of the public Monday-Thursday 12-4pm.Visitors can access books and periodicals on the open shelves and digital resources including the Daily Worker 1930-46 and the complete works of Marx & Engels on our Reading Room computer. If you would like to view any of our reserve books and/or archive collections, please book an appointment by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The vast majority of our published material (books and periodicals) is entered on our online catalogue. This can be searched by title, author and subject.We are in the process of including all of our archival collections on the catalogue. This is an on-going process. The subject guides on this page are a useful introduction to the different collections held by the Library. If you have any queries about our collections email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Library welcomes donations of books and archives to its collections.If you have material you think might be of interest, please do get in touch with a list of the books and a description of the archives at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. acquisition policy can be downloaded here (ISSUU link).

The Marx Memorial Library holds over 48,000 books, pamphlets and periodicals on the science of Marxism, the history of the working class movement, trade unionism, anti-fascism and peace and solidarity campaigns. Information on these publications can be found on our catalogue. We also hold archival collections on the Spanish Civil War, trade unions and campaign groups, activists and revolutionaries and the libraries of James Klugmann and John Bernal. Subject guides, articles and educational material on these core collections can be found below.

Bernal – scientist and socialist – was a life-long campaigner for peace. He was president of the Marx Memorial Library 1950-71 and his library was donated to the MML in 1979. The library includes reports from UN committees and international conferences, in addition to runs of periodicals on all aspects of twentieth century campaigns for peace.

Klugmann – historian of the Communist Party – was a writer, educator and speaker. He edited Marxism Today 1957-77 and was a member of the MML Committee 1967-77. His collection of radical literature, with a focus on Robert Owen, and early socialists such as Bray, Thompson and Gray, the Chartist movement and women’s rights, is housed at the Library.

The archive of the library itself, dating back to its foundation in 1933, includes bulletins, reports, education syllabuses and the papers of individual librarians such as John Williamson and Andrew Rothstein. For more information about the history of the Library click here.

A unique collection of over 2,000 posters form a core part of the Library’s collections. Areas of specialism include the Soviet Union, the Spanish Civil War and the anti-apartheid movement. Prints of some of these posters are available to buy in our shop.

The Spanish Collection comprises the archives of the International Brigade Association and those of individual Brigaders. It documents the Aid Spain campaign in the UK and abroad – a grass roots response to the Spanish Civil War 1936-39 –, the experiences of Brigaders fighting in Spain and subsequent campaigns against the Franco dictatorship. It includes photographs, diaries, correspondence, printed ephemera, periodicals and artefacts.

The Spanish Collection is currently being recatalogued, with work on the collection expected to finish in February 2018. The collection will be open to researchers throughout this period but if you are planning to visit before February 2018 please contact us in advance with details of the material you would like to see. We cannot guarantee access to material without advance bookings during this period.

A complete run of the Daily Worker and the Morning Star from the first issue published on 1 January 1930 is available to researchers at the Library. This fascinating resource tracks the history of the left and labour movement in Britain and aboard. The newspapers’ photographic archive also form part of the Library's collections.

The Printers' Collection was donated to the MML in 2009 by the Graphical, Paper and Media Sector of Unite. The collection comprises journals, reports, photographs, banners and other artefacts relating to the print industry in the UK. For further information on the collection, visit the Printers' Collection website here http://www.printerscollection.org.uk/.

The Library holds a wide range of collections on individuals such as Wal Hannington, Phil Piratin, James Connolly, Noreen and Clive Branson and Helen Crawfurd, and organisations such as the British Soviet Friendship Society, the British Czechoslovak Friendship League and the China Campaign Committee.

A unique collection of pamphlets and rare periodicals form part of the Library’s collections and document activities of trade unions, political parties and campaign groups for over one hundred years, covering subjects including the anti-colonial campaigns, the womens’ movement and strikes and struggles.

The Marx Memorial Library has a phenomenal collection of historic photos. Here are samples from our Daily Worker/Morning Star archive.

Unless otherwise stated these images are Copyright Morning Star, Courtesy Marx Memorial Library, London. Efforts have been made to trace copyright where the status is not clear. If you have any further information regarding the intellectual property of unattributed photographs, please don't hesitate to get in touch at archives@mml.xyz.

Please email archives@mml.xyz for further information and if you would like to request copies for commercial use.

John Williamson spent the most active years of his life (1913-1955) as member of the Communist Party of America. Of Scottish origins, he moved back to the UK due to the Smith Act that represented the attempt of the US Department of Justice to destroy the CPUSA.

He had worked for ten years as a librarian and organiser of the Marx Memorial Library's educational activities. Before his death in 1974 he was nominated chairman.